Australia Under-19s 370 for 8 (McSweeney 156, Sangha 88, Tau 2-42) beat Papua New Guinea Under-19s 59 (Morea 20, Ralston 7-15) by 311 runs
Australia Under-19 opener Nathan McSweeney's 156, aided by half-centuries from captain Jason Sangha and Param Uppal, and a seven-wicket haul from fast bowler Jason Ralston handed PNG a mammoth 311-run drubbing in Lincoln.
Having set a target of 371, Ralston ran through the PNG line-up with figures of 7 for 15. While Zak Evans and Ryan Hadley took out one wicket a piece, Ralston's offensive, across 6.5 overs, proved sufficient to ensure PNG were bowled out for 59 inside 24.5 overs, with only one batsman - Leke Morea (20) - notching up a double-digit score.
Much of the trouble for PNG, however, began with the ball as their decision to bowl backfired spectacularly, despite having made the first strike off the eighth ball of the innings. After Semo Kamea removed Max Bryant for a duck, McSweeney hammered 18 fours and four sixes and trotted to a 111-ball 156, putting on 250 runs for the second wicket with Sangha (88), at an astounding rate of 7.28. Left-arm quick James Tau's double-strike off successive balls in the 36th over accounted for McSweeney and Sangha, following which Austin Waugh (26) partnered with Uppal (61) to add 92 for the fourth wicket. With less than four overs left until the end of the innings, the duo, too, fell off back-to-back deliveries to Dare Aiga, but had done enough to ensure Australia finished on 370 for 8.
